Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University, Lancaster LA1 4YQ, United Kingdom.
Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University, Lancaster LA1 4YQ, United Kingdom.
Environ Int. 2018 Feb;111:32-42. doi: 10.1016/j.envint.2017.11.009. Epub 2017 Nov 21.
The Niger Delta is one of the largest oil producing regions of the world. Large numbers and volumes of oil spills have been reported in this region. What has not been quantified is the putative exposure of humans and/or the environment to this hydrocarbon pollution. In this novel study, advanced geostatistical techniques were applied to an extensive database of oil spill incidents from 2007 to 2015. The aims were to (i) identify and analyse spill hotspots along the oil pipeline network and (ii) estimate the exposure of the hydrocarbon pollution to the human population and the environment within the Niger Delta. Over the study period almost 90millionlitres of oil were released. Approximately 29% of the human population living in proximity to the pipeline network has been potentially exposed to oil contamination, of which 565,000 people live within high or very high spill intensity sectors. Over 1000km of land has been contaminated by oil pollution, with broadleaved forest, mangroves and agricultural land the most heavily impacted land cover types. Proximity to the coast, roads and cities are the strongest spatial factors contributing to spill occurrence, which largely determine the accessibility of sites for pipeline sabotage and oil theft. Overall, the findings demonstrate the high levels of environmental and human exposure to hydrocarbon pollutants in the Niger Delta. These results provide evidence with which to spatially target interventions to reduce future spill incidents and mitigate the impacts of previous spills on human communities and ecosystem health.
尼日尔三角洲是世界上最大的产油区之一。该地区报告了大量的石油泄漏事件。但尚未量化的是人类和/或环境据称接触到这种碳氢化合物污染的程度。在这项新的研究中，应用了先进的地质统计学技术来分析 2007 年至 2015 年期间广泛的石油泄漏事件数据库。目的是：（i）确定并分析沿输油管道网络的泄漏热点；（ii）估计碳氢化合物污染对尼日尔三角洲地区人类和环境的暴露程度。在研究期间，约有 9000 万升石油被释放。大约 29%的生活在靠近输油管道网络的人口可能接触到了石油污染，其中 56.5 万人生活在高或极高泄漏强度区。超过 1000 公里的土地受到了石油污染，阔叶林、红树林和农田是受影响最严重的土地覆盖类型。接近海岸、道路和城市是导致泄漏发生的最强空间因素，这在很大程度上决定了管道破坏和石油盗窃地点的可及性。总的来说，这些发现表明了尼日尔三角洲地区环境和人类接触碳氢化合物污染物的程度很高。这些结果提供了证据，可以有针对性地在空间上进行干预，以减少未来的泄漏事件，并减轻以前的泄漏对人类社区和生态系统健康的影响。
